GasLand – The Movie on HBO

GasLand is a documentary movie that has come out that is critical of the Natural Gas industry especially some of their drilling and completion methods. It is showing on HBO tonight and I plan to watch it if I can to see what it’s all about. Of course I’m very interested because I work in the Natural Gas industry so I’m going to watch it if Sweetie will let me have the remote.

Here is the GasLand official trailer.

GasLand has a website listed but it doesn’t seem to go anywhere. Give it a shot if you like here.

Here is the HBO Link. It has all sorts of good stuff on it including links to environmental organizations.

The Independent Petroleum Association of America (“IPAA”) through their Energy in Depth website has posted a detailed counter to many of the assertions made in the film. You can check that out here. It is quite detailed and if you want to look at a simpler version of their specific points check this.

For the record, I haven’t seen the movie but the trailer seems a little sensationalist to me. I know the IPAA is hardly an impartial source but they do provide links to back up their claims. If you watch the movie please comment back and let me know what you think.

Thanks,

The Wizard of Oz

Saturday night Sweetie and I loaded up SuperPizzaBoy and drove to Tulsa’s Performing Arts Center to see the touring production of The Wizard of Oz.

We, including SPB, loved it. The show moves along quickly and the singing and dancing is very good.

This is a good show to take the kids. Totally G rated.

Find more videos like this on Friends of NETworks

I give the show 3 stars out of 4. Go see it, take the kids. Have a good time.

Happy Father’s Day!!

From a family reunion last week

Retired with my Mother

He and I catching some trout on Ririe Reservoir in Idaho (long time ago)

I think this is his college graduation photograph

With his brothers and sister as they were growing up in South Dakota

Dubois, Idaho Marching Band

(Photo from “Dubois Rodeo (Idaho)” facebook site

If you find yourself in or near Dubois, Idaho today (6/20) be sure to take in their rodeo parade. It starts at 10:30, sharp.

The Yogi’s are not making it this year but if you are there keep your eyes and ears peeled for the Dubois Marching Band. It is small but mighty. We were there last year for the event. Here is a photograph so you know what to look for.

Anybody look familiar? There is SuperPizzaBoy, co-chairman of the candy tossing committee. Just behind him is the other co-chairman, cousin Mr. Beans. At the back of the truck is Mr. Bean’s “Pappy”, Irv. Who just happens to my favorite BIL Driving, is Gramps, my Dad.

We are not going to be there to help Gramps this year but he is still planning to be the Marching Band again this year. He has been doing it for years. It’s a tradition.

Here is another shot of the Marching Band and support crew.

From left to right, Gramps, Mr. Beans, SuperPizzaBoy, Sweetie, Irv, and my Sister Ellen.

Hey, if you go, talk to Gramps, he is going without a support crew or candy tossers. Stick around for the rodeo later in the day.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

I was reading the online New York Times a week or so ago and they discussed the literary phenomenon of the Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson a Swedish author who wrote the three books and then died. His books became a posthumous best seller. I said “What, a best selling series that doesn’t involve vampires and whiny teenage girls.” How come I’ve never heard of it?

So I picked up a paperback copy and started reading. I was hooked. bad. It is a crime novel set in a small town in Sweden. It features Mikael Blomkvist a journalist who lost his mojo and a criminal libel trial and is facing a short prison term and his eventual sidekick, Lisbeth Salander, a computer hacker/investigator who Blomkvist suspects has Asperger’s Syndrome. Lisbeth is one tough girl. She is nobody to mess with. The original Swedish title of the book translates as “Men who Hate Women.” The guys that mess with Lisbeth eventually get their butts kicked, hard by this 90 pound woman.

Blomkvist is offered a job to solve a long standing missing persons case of somebody who disappeared from a small island in Sweden over 34 years ago. He starts on his investigation and things get very interesting very quickly then they get dangerous, very dangerous. This is one of those books you can’t put down. Or at least I couldn’t. It is full of intrigue and evil people, but no vampires and no whining.

I give this book four stars out of four. I have already bought the second book in the trilogy, “The Girl who Played with Fire,” on my Kindle. The Kindle price is the same as the paperback price, about $7.99 or so. I’ll do that. The last book in the trilogy,”The Girl who Kicked the Hornets Nest” is out in hardback now. It is under $10 bucks for the Kindle version so I’ll do that also.

Ririe, Idaho Skywatch

The view from Ben and Debbie’s house in Ririe, Idaho. Check out Skywatch Friday for more views of our sky from around the world.

Family Scanning

We got back from Idaho on Sunday for a family reunion and visit with my Dad. I was planning on do some geocaching but I got sidetracked scanning old family photographs. I can actually say it was more fun than geocaching. (Although I did get a couple of those.)

Many of the photographs I had never seen before, like this one:

Early 1960’s near Payson, Arizona. Me, Brother, Sister, Mom. Dad was the photographer. Isn’t that just so early 1960’s. I love the Coors box. I love brother Bob’s bandanna and hat. Where’s mine?

I also love this one:

This is my Mother in northern Idaho before she was married. Isn’t she the perfect Forest Ranger’s wife? I love the rolled up cuffs and the shoes. She wasn’t posing or anything was she? You think?

Here is Mom and Dad with brother Bob in Missoula, Montana.

I found, what is now my favorite photograph of her of all time in her favorite outfit.

She has that look that she got when she was about to engage in her favorite sport of poking Republicans in the eye, including sometimes her pompous middle child.

Hey, go see your folks if they are still around and raid their photo albums. Its fun. Get the stories.

Family Reunion Time

Just got back from Idaho where we attended a family reunion. We all had a great time getting together and talking about what has been happening since last year. We still don’t all know each other but it gets better every year.

My cousin Merri Ann worked very hard to find a spot and get everything organized. As usual she did a great job. A nice part of this year’s spot was the fishing pond. The kids took advantage of that.

Cousin Mr. Beans caught a fish. The silly thing wouldn’t sit still for a decent photograph. The man with the evil looking grimace is Mr. Bean’s grandfather, Pappy. And no, he didn’t eat the fish raw. They pulled the hook out and released it, like we were supposed to.

SuperPizzaBoy also caught a fish. The fish committed suicide by swallowing the hook and so we bought it. 2-3/8 pounds, pretty good for a trout.

The boys also engaged in other wilderness pursuits. This one requiring batteries.

If you look in the left window you’ll see the photographer. If you look in the right window carefully you can see his sister, Ellen (Mr. Bean’s Grammy) wearing a white jacket. (Check out Ellen’s blog.)

A whole lot of visiting went on. The downloaded image appeared all funky so I converted it to a sepia tone to make it a little more presentable. My photo editing skills are very pitiful I’m sorry to say. Almost all my photos are right out of the camera.